Writing and Publishing by Tina P. Schwartz

March 14 is the deadline for WNPL’s Creative Writing Contest. It you are interested in writing, either as a hobby, or as a possible career, you’ll want to check out our new book: Writing and Publishing by Tina P. Schwartz. Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King began their publishing careers when they were teens? When Poe started writing he wouldn’t have had books on how to write and get published. King probably read these type of books, and has even written on the subject as in his book, On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft. But this book is specifically written for teens. Schwartz discusses topics such as the importance of mentors and critique groups, and recommends courses and extracurricular activities that can be of great help to the teen author. She talks about a variety of writing careers and the basics of publishing and marketing, including how to write query letters. Schwartz also provides tips on writing both fiction and nonfiction, as well as poetry and songwriting. The part I enjoyed most in the book were the inserts where Schwartz tells how other authors got their starts and advice these authors have for the teen writer.